The game might be called "trivia," but the impact of trivia games on slow nights at area bars and restaurants is anything but trivial. Just ask Chris Lee, who owns Ashland Midtown Pub. Since he started offering trivia on Monday nights, his business has more than doubled. It's a win-win for everyone, from the customers to the wait staff to the trivia organizers themselves.

Though some local establishments, such as Mellow Mushroom, Serda's and Silver Horse Pub, organize their own trivia events, others, like Ashland Midtown Pub, contract with Mobile Bay Trivia/Challenge Entertainment, a company that started in Memphis, Tenn., and offers trivia and other games in cities all over the country. Eric Gallichant started out working a side gig as a jockey (the person who runs the game) once a week, and he enjoyed it so much that he was able to quit his "day job" and go to work for the company full-time as area manager for Mobile and Pensacola.

Gallichant says he's not good at trivia, though most of the jockeys start out as players. "People love trivia; they love to be challenged," he says. His company offers the added bonus of a trivia league that is currently competing for a prize pool of $25,000 in the Mid-South Finals to be held in Tunica, Miss., on Aug. 24.

Mobile Bay Trivia specializes in taking a restaurant's slow night and turning it into a money-maker. "We help generate interest and get people to come out and earn prizes. The result is more money for the restaurant, the wait staff and the jockeys."

Depending on how competitive they are, some people play a couple of times a week under different team names, and some just play intermittently, Gallichant says. Over the years he's been involved, he has gotten to know the players on several teams, including one family, the Steadmans, who play every week as "Love Me Tender."

During the game, the jockey calls out the question and players wager a number of points (6, 4 or 2 in the first half; 9, 7 or 5 in the second). During the length of a song, the players can discuss the answer among themselves but are encouraged not to shout out their answers--and, of course, smartphones are not allowed. Answer slips are turned in to the jockey, who enters the answers and tallies the points. Other than the players, no one knows who got the answer correct and who didn't. "One thing we don't do is embarrass people," Gallichant says.

A team can be comprised of any number of players--anyone who's at the table can join in, so the more players there are, the better chance a team has of coming up with the winning answer. "It's not just about knowing the right answer, it's about figuring out the process to get to the right answer," Gallichant says.

At each of Mobile Bay Trivia's locations (Ashland Midtown Pub, Wintzell's locations in downtown Mobile and on Airport Boulevard and in Spanish Fort, Moe's locations in Daphne and downtown Mobile, Baumhower's in Mobile, Hooters in Mobile and Daphne, and Buffalo Wild Wings), prizes are a $50 gift certificate for first place; $20 for second place; and $10 for third.

In addition to trivia, Challenge Entertainment also offers games like ballistic bingo (now at Buffalo Wild Wings) and karaoke, and it has others in the works. "It's fun for me watching locations grow and do well," says Gallichant.

For more information and the trivia schedule in Mobile, visit cetrivia.com. Also be sure to "like" Mobile Bay Trivia on Facebook.

A First-Timer's Account

What downtown restaurant's walls are covered with sayings? Of course, the answer is Wintzell's Oyster House, which offers seafood "fried, stewed and nude" and free games of trivia.

On a recent Wednesday night, my friend and I played trivia for the first time at Wintzell's. We told the hostess we wanted to play, and she seated us in the rear dining room, near the bar. The back door to the patio was open, as were the front windows along Dauphin Street, creating a delightful cross-breeze. What a great night to be out on the town!

Our waitress brought over a scorecard and some answer slips, and we watched the jockey, Brendon Cooke, set up nearby. We made up a name for our team ("M&M"), and we listened to the jockey's instructions as the games began right at 7 p.m. As she took our dinner order, our sweet waitress told us that the key is to stay until the end, when the prizes are handed out.

The evening consisted of two halves, with three rounds of three questions each in each half for a total of 18 questions. We got all three questions in the first round correct, giving each other a fist-bump for every correct answer. Feeling cocky, we then lost two history questions in a row, which was a major blow to my friend's pride. He is, after all, a history buff. I felt the same way when I offered a guess on a literature question, answering "Maurice Sendak" when it should have been "Roald Dahl."

But then, we came back, as the jockey announced the teams' places at halftime. M&M was a contender, coming in second place! By the end of the game, right around 9:00, we had eaten our dinner and downed two beers apiece--and ended up coming in third place. We now proudly possess a $10 Wintzell's gift card.

I agree that one of the keys is staying until the end. But I'd say, in my case, the key is to play with someone who has a broad range of knowledge and who likes to compete--like my friend. I definitely want him on my team, every time. (Watch out, "Sharks," who won big that night, because "M&M" will be back!)

Test Your Knowledge

Here are some sample questions from a recent trivia night:

1. What American author and humorist was born in 1835 and died in 1910, both years coinciding with the appearance of Halley's Comet?

2. In what 1999 film do most of the main characters work for a software company called Initech?

3. What type of animal links the names of the groups that recorded these hit songs: "Hotel California," "I Ran," and "Wide Open Spaces"?

4. Which one of the stars of "Natural Born Killers" plays Clark and Ellen Griswold's daughter in 1989's "Christmas Vacation"?

5. How many of Henry the Eighth's six wives were named Anne?

6. "Jealous Again" and "She Talks to Angels" are songs from what rock band from